Effectively assisting people doing good to do it even better

By Penny Beeston : The future. It hovers in front of each of us on a daily basis. In a busy life, we can fall into the trap of becoming somewhat ambivalent about our future. We are paying down mortgages, busy raising kids and working hard. During these periods in our lives we tend to […]

By Chris Gandy : I attended the Australian Society of Association Executives Conference in Canberra last week where many of the papers and invariably a great deal of the networking conversation focused on helping staff and NFP Boards overcoming resistance to change. As I listened to some excellent presentations which received knowing nods from an […]

By Nina Sochon: I believe that we’re fundamentally lacking in our thinking about the workplace and how we get things done. We talk about teamwork in the context of what leaders should do – it is seen as the leader’s responsibility to create a great team. Books about creating high performing teams are written to […]

By Chris Gandy :Maybe it’s me, but have you noticed (or cared) how often people refer to their role on a not for profit board as “sitting”? It’s as if simply turning up is all that is required. I sit of the board of Save the Purple Frog League. Sorry I am late, our board […]

By Dennis Fischman : Does your organisation use volunteers? Then you know they’re more than just do-gooders. Your volunteers are: Hands doing work your staff don’t have to do Eyes perceiving things you might miss Voices, speaking for you and about you to their friends Donors! People who give their time are more likely to […]

By Chris Milligan : Everyone’s talking about the “future of work” and if your organisation isn’t, perhaps it’s time you joined the conversation. CSIRO’s latest report; Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce is a gold mine, laying out the mega trends set to hit the workplace in the coming decade, and what you need to know. Unlike other […]

By Chris Gandy I have a few people to thank for encouraging me to develop our Janus CEO Transition Program. Unwittingly, Alex was one of them. I have known Alex and the organisation he was the Board Chair of for a number of years. About two years ago I ran into him at a conference […]

“Our conscience is not the vessel of eternal verities. It grows with our social life, and a new social condition means a radical change in conscience”. – Walter Lippmann What does a quote on ethics have to do with Leadership? To me everything. Since my first introduction to Ethics via Simon Longstaff and The St. James Ethics […]

Please don’t get us wrong. If a Board of a cause-based organisation decides to engage an Interim CEO and they instruct that person to “simply hold the fort” while they decide on a future direction, it is entirely their prerogative. And we are sure that there are many Interims who are prepared to take on […]

Bushfires Every organisation, no matter its scale, experiences bushfires. Leaders know about these. Just like the bushfires that ravage Australia each summer, a percentage of these are the result of arsonists. So let’s talk about cultural arsonists. Who are these people? Are they “psychopaths”? Are they “sociopaths?” Perhaps a tiny percentage would be diagnosable. The […]